“With your complexion, it will be a great color on you. We’ll just get you a nice spray tan and it will really pop. Oh, I can’t wait; you’re going to look like such a lovely young lady. Your brother is going to flip.”
“Or drop dead from shock,” Carrie muttered, stifling a laugh.
“It all sounds wonderful,” MaKayla said. “In fact, it sounds so wonderful that I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving your future mother-in-law out of all the fun. How about we shop for a dress for her, too?”
“You’re absolutely right,” Paige exclaimed, throwing her hands up animatedly. “Mrs. Matthews, I’m so sorry to have left you out of our girls’ day. Tell you what, as soon as I get dressed, we’ll forget all about me and I’ll concentrate on being your own personal fashion consultant.”
Carrie nodded, her lips pursed. “Marvelous, absolutely marvelous,” MaKayla said, making dramatic gestures of her own with her hands.
“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Paige called as she ran back to change.
“Oh, do hurry,” MaKayla answered her.
“The next time you need money to go to the movies, the answer is no,” Carrie said when Paige was out of sight. “In fact, just don’t ask at all.”
“But, Mother, we need to be supportive of Chase and his decisions, remember?”
“That was before I knew that statement was going to come back to bite me in the ass.”
“Don’t worry, Mom, it will all be over in a few weeks.”
*****
“Pink. Man, why do your colors have to be pink?” Trey lamented. “Seriously, are you getting any say at all in this wedding, or is Paige steering the entire ship?”
“Life is all about picking your battles,” Chase said. He opened the door to the Cedar Hill Mall and entered its unusually dark interior. “In the grand scheme of things, arguing over two different shades of pink seemed silly. Besides, Paige has been planning this day since she was four, so I’m letting her run with it.”
“It seems like she’s been running with everything since the relationship began.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know.” The pair walked into the mall, the inside of which seemed all but deserted, save for those who worked there and a few cautious shoppers who’d ventured into the few shops that remained open. Bars covered entryways to shops long forgotten, like prison cells. They outnumbered the viable businesses that still existed in the heart of the dying building. “Man, I remember when businesses were put on a waiting list to rent retail space here,” Trey said, trying to change the subject. “Now you’d have to pay people to bring their business here.”
“Fear is the most powerful form of control that exists. And the world we live in now is rife with it. No one wants to take the chance of becoming the next casualty reported on the evening news,” Chase said.
“So instead of living their lives and taking the chance that they may die in some horrific manner, they’d rather board themselves up in their homes and end their existence that way instead? It makes no sense to me either way.”
“Me neither, man,” Chase sighed. “At least the tuxedo rental shop is still in business. The next closest one is two hours away.”
“Must be no one is in the mood to celebrate these days,” Trey laughed. “I can’t imagine why not.”
They entered the shop, which was barren except for a lone employee passing the time on her cell phone, her fingers texting furiously. She looked up as Chase and Trey entered, seemingly shocked that she had customers, and tossed her cell phone aside. “Hello,” she greeted them. “Can I help you with something?”
“Yeah, I’m getting married in June,” Chase answered her. “And I’m told by my future wife that a tuxedo is the only form of acceptable attire for the event.”
“And not just any tuxedo,” Trey added. “Their colors are pink and pinker, so we’re going to have all kinds of fun here today.”
“Congratulations,” the cheery brunette said. “Pink is certainly a popular color choice for weddings. I’ll grab one of our catalogs to show you the different shades we have for our vests. I believe we may even have some samples in the back I can show you.” The woman raced to the back of the store excitedly and disappeared through a doorway. “Oh, I forgot to ask,” she said, reappearing. “How many groomsmen are there going to be?”
“Two,” Chase said. “The other one is going to come for measurements later.”
“Perfect,” she said, disappearing again.
“What are we, like the first customers you’ve had all week?” Trey called after her.
“No, actually,” she said, reappearing from the back room, vests in hand. “You’re the fourth wedding party I’ve had in the last five days. Business has really picked up.”
Chase and Trey glanced at each other, eyebrows raised. “Well, I guess that’s progress,” Trey muttered.
“Okay, let’s decide on the color, and then I’ll begin to take your measurements, and—” As she spoke, the lights in the store and the rest of the mall flickered, causing her to pause mid-sentence, her eyes widening in fear. “Not again,” her voice cracked.
“What?” Chase asked, looking around. “What’s going on?”
“President Brooks’ new administrative order. They can disable a city, a neighborhood, a business, or really anywhere they suspect rebel activity. The power went out here three days ago and the place was crawling with soldiers. Apparently, they found a guy in the parking lot coordinating some sort of demonstration. They detained him and hauled him away on the spot. About an hour later, our power and cellular phone service was restored again, like nothing ever happened.”
“There are parts of the Capitol that have been without power since the night of the address,” Chase said, feeling uneasy. “They’re trying to flush out the rebels, but all they’re doing is making the innocent suffer.”
“I wouldn’t say that out loud if I were you. Not with the way people are being imprisoned left and right. It’s best just to keep those thoughts to yourself and go about your life the best you can,” the woman said, her nametag catching Chase’s eye.
“Well, Kate, it’s that kind of thinking that landed us in the spot we’re in right now. If more people spoke up instead of hiding what they truly felt, things would be a lot different now.”
Kate smiled at Chase, stealing a glance at the rest of the mall outside her shop. “It looks like the coast is clear,” she said, relaxing a bit. “Let’s start with your measurements first.” She nodded at Trey.
Trey followed her to the back of the store while Chase browsed the racks near the entrance, keeping an eye on the activity going on outside. He thumbed through the different suit coats absentmindedly. In his head, he ran through all the preparations they still needed to make: the food, the cake, the venue, the flowers, the guest list, the invitations. Everything streamed through his consciousness in a blur, and he was happy that Paige had volunteered to handle the majority of it, even if that meant having the frilliest, most emasculating wedding in the history of mankind.
Chase looked up from the racks at Trey, who seemed to be enjoying Kate taking measurements of his inseam a little more than he should be. Trey noticed Chase watching him and flashed him a thumbs up, prompting Chase to shake his head at him out of both warning and disgust. Turning away from the racks, Chase sighed as he began to make his way to the back of the store to spare Trey inevitable embarrassment and Kate an awkward situation. But just as he was about to turn toward the back of the store, a passerby caught his eye. A woman, tall, with a slender frame and long brunette hair, walked by. Though he couldn’t see her face, he could feel his heart rate pick up as though it had locked in on the woman’s identity.
No, it can’t be, he thought. He glanced back at Trey and then back at the mall outside the store, noticing that the woman was already steadily disappearing from sight. Against his better judgment, Chase hurriedly walked out of the tuxedo shop, turning in the direction the woman h
ad gone. I can’t let her get away again, not without getting answers, he thought, his mind racing. To his relief, he quickly spotted her and picked up his pace to catch up to her, all while his heart pounded furiously inside his chest. The right build, a near perfect match in the color and style of her hair. It had to be her. It had to be.
Chase reached out and grabbed the woman’s shoulder. Surprised, she quickly spun around to face him, wearing an expression that was both confused and annoyed. “I’m sorry, Ma’am,” Chase apologized. “I thought you were someone else.”
“Perhaps you should be sure of someone’s identity in the future before you just reach out and grab them like that,” she said in a huff as she turned around and strode away.
Defeated, Chase turned to head back to the tuxedo shop when the lights around him flickered again. Only this time, the flickering didn’t stop until the mall was fully engulfed in darkness. In the distance, screams echoed through the halls, matched by the sound of boots tramping on the linoleum floor. Frantically, Chase tried to find his way in the darkened hallway away from the approaching threat, but before he could get far, something struck him on the back of the head and knocked him to the ground.
“Everybody to the ground,” an authoritative voice ordered anyone within earshot. “This is a raid.”
Chapter Two
Consciousness
“I’ve never told you this before,” Chase said as we lay on the rooftop of my old apartment building, “but when I first saw you, time itself seemed to stop, except for you and I. It was as though the whole room was placed on pause, everyone frozen in their last moments, and I knew I had to get to you. I had to get you to notice me because that was the only way to make the world turn again.”
I looked at him and smiled. This was yet again another dream—a hallucination, some may say. I’d had many of them over the past few hours. Or maybe it had been days? Weeks? Though I wasn’t sure of the amount of time that had passed since I’d last had a lucid thought, I knew, nonetheless, that I was dreaming. And this was turning out to be my favorite one so far.
“I didn’t know that, tell me more,” I answered, baiting him. If I couldn’t be with him while I was awake, this was my next best option.
“And when we were together, my world did turn. It spun so fast, it made me dizzy, but I didn’t care because I loved the euphoric feeling. Our love was love the way it was meant to be. The love you read about in fiction.” Chase fell silent as he stared up at the dark, starless sky.
“You’re referring to our relationship in the past tense,” I said. This was a first. Every other dream had been in the present tense.
“We need to let each other go, Celaine.” Chase glanced over at me and smiled, defeated. “It’s the only way we’re ever going to heal and move on with our lives.”
I nodded at him with tears in my eyes. “I know.”
“Now wake up. They need you.”
Slowly and without taking his eyes away from mine, he faded away until there was nothing left around me but the starless night sky.
*****
“Is she awake?” Ian’s voice blew through my head like a warm breeze, so close, yet so far away.
“Not yet. Soon, I think,” Kara’s voice answered him. Her voice was a footstep or two closer than Ian’s had been.
“Something’s not right. She should have regained consciousness by now. Maybe someone should check her vitals.”
“Simmer down, lover boy,” Kara interrupted him. “Celaine lost a lot of blood and has been kept pretty sedated. Five days really isn’t a long time considering the injury she sustained.” Even though she put on a calm and collected façade, there was a subtle nuance in her voice that betrayed her fear. Thankfully, Ian was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice it.
“Celaine, wake up, please.” His voice came through clearer as though he’d opened the door and entered the same room as me. Close. Oh, so very close. “Please,” he whispered, and for the first time in days, I could feel touch. His skin was touching my skin, my forehead. Was it his hand? His lips? I couldn’t tell yet, but I could feel my body slowly surfacing from the depths of unconsciousness.
“The color has returned to her cheeks. She’ll be back with us soon,” Kara reassured him. “She won’t stop fighting until she is.”
They were right next to me. Their voices came through normally now. Ian’s hand, yes, it was his hand, brushed against my cheek. Each individual finger felt distinct against my skin. The feeling was returning to my body and I no longer felt numb. I felt alive, I felt cold, I felt—“Ah,” I groaned. Pain. I felt burning, searing, insatiable pain.
“Celaine.” The excitement in Ian’s voice jolted me back into consciousness as though he’d single-handedly plucked me from its undertow.
My eyes fluttered open, slowly adjusting to the light in the room and Kara and Ian’s beaming faces standing over me. I was in a hospital bed. Its protective rails appeared in my peripheral vision. An IV was attached to my arm. We were at The Epicenter, in the recovery room next to the operating room.
“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Kara greeted me, smiling. “How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been shot, for some reason,” I answered, trying to smirk, but finding even that too painful.
“And she’s back, ladies and gentlemen,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “How’s your pain level, smart ass? Do you need something more for your pain?”
“Yes, please. That would be fantastic,” I answered her, doing my best to stay as still as possible.
“Okay, I’ll be right back,” she said, rubbing my hand before turning around to leave the room. “No hanky panky while I’m gone, you two,” she called back to us as the door closed shut behind her.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, my face growing warmer by the second.
“I sort of,” Ian began, “I mean, well, you know, we had five days to talk, and—”
“Say no more,” I interceded. “Well, I’m sure it didn’t shock her, considering the fine assortment of lacy undergarments she packed away in my suitcase.” Ian’s eyes grew wide, telling me that Kara hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with her own dirty deeds.
“That sneaky—” Ian muttered. “I wondered what those condoms in my suitcase were for. I mean, I know what they’re for, but, oh god, I’m just going to stop talking now.”
“No, don’t,” I said, a smile crossing my lips for the first time since awakening. “Your voice; I didn’t realize until you started talking how much I really missed hearing it.”
“Celaine,” he whispered softly, kissing my forehead. “I thought I lost you. Actually, there were a few times when I actually did.”
“I’m still here,” I answered him. “It’s going to take a lot more than a bullet to do me in.”
“I’ll never let that happen again.” His fingers trailed down my cheek until they reached my chin, his eyes growing serious. “As long as I have life left in me, I won’t let anything happen to you.” His lips met mine, warm and gentle; and at that moment, a part of me believed that everything I could ever need was contained within their smooth exterior. He pulled his mouth away from mine slowly, resting his forehead on my own. “I love you,” he said softly without so much as batting an eyelash.
In shock, I lay still against my pillow, unable to do anything but try to absorb the words that had just come from his mouth. He loves me? Ian Grant loves me? How? When? I struggled to remember the events of the last week, our time at the Park View, our dance, our kiss on the balcony. All great moments, but when did they culminate into ‘I love you?’
“Ian, I—” I began, but before I could finish my thought, the door opened and Kara entered the room, accompanied by Victor.
“I’m sorry,” she mouthed silently as she stood next to me.
“Ms. Stevens.” Victor acknowledged me. His voice instantaneously made my blood run cold, as though ice water had replaced it. “Welcome back to the land of the living.” He paused at t
he foot of the bed, forcing us to look at each other face-to-face.
“Victor,” I said directly, doing my best to sound as strong as possible in the hope of counteracting the pain that flooded my body. “Don’t look so sullen. There will be a day when my heart stops beating.” Next to me, Ian’s expression hardened as he gently squeezed my arm. He was giving me a warning, like when he used to kick my leg from underneath the table.
“Now, now, Ms. Stevens,” Victor continued, unfazed. “It hurts me that you would insinuate such things, seeing as how you have turned out to be quite the star. In fact, you’ve single-handedly turned into our greatest asset. Your recovery was both necessary to our cause and a blessing for the people of our beloved country.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, incredulously. “How in the world am I an asset to you? If anything, I should be taken away in shackles to await my punishment for insubordination.”
“On the contrary, you and Mr. Grant here were quite the victims.” Victor laughed softly as though remembering a joke only he had been privy to. “You didn’t actually believe we would let the address be televised live without a delay, did you?”
From the depths of my being, I could feel every cell simultaneously ignite. “What did you do?” The strength I’d been trying to project disappeared, making way for the rage that was burning me alive.
“It’s not what I did, Ms. Stevens, it’s what you and Mr. Grant did that got the whole country talking.” I looked over at Ian, who remained next to me, stone-faced. “After all, you were just doing your job, jumping into the crowd to find the sniper the rebels had sent, only to be shot by their leader as you and Mr. Grant fought alongside our country’s soldiers to protect all of those innocent bystanders from the massacre the rebels were planning.”
“That’s not what happened at all. You know that’s not what happened. You know Brooks planted the sniper in that crowd. How, Victor? How could you have possibly changed history?” And then it dawned on me. The delay; what had been broadcast “live” across the country versus the reality of what had actually happened must have been filtered somehow, or edited. “Cameron,” I said, clenching my jaw to suppress a scream.
Redemption (Enigma Black Trilogy Book #3) Page 2
